This isn't really so much of a recipe as "put them in the oven" isn't exactly a novel concept. But I thought it might be worth sharing, anyway, since sometimes something so simple as putting them in the oven makes the painfully ordinary surprisingly good.

With the particularly evil combo of negative windchills and post-vacation food guilt, cold salads are not exactly cutting it when I literally dreamed of macaroni and cheese last night. I can't roast cheese for you (OR CAN I?), but I can improve on the cold salad business.

Roasted Tomatoes

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.


• Cut your tomatoes into evenly-sized pieces and place on a foil covered pan for easy clean-up.


• Sprinkle to taste with salt, pepper, sugar, and seasoning. On 5 tomatoes, I used about 1 tsp of salt, 1 tsp pepper, and one Tb of sugar. Skip anything else, but don't skip the sugar -- it's what'll make your tomatoes caramelize a bit!


• Drizzle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and sprinkle with any other seasonings you like - I used a bit of oregano.


• Roast for 30 minutes. If you'd like them a bit extra crunchy and black on top, pop them in the broiler for 2 minutes at the end for charred edges.


• Serve with other roasted vegetables, on top of your salad to warm it up, or as a side dish.